Jay Birds

Happy Tuesday!

Today, I'm sharing some recent work for a quirky series idea I had a while ago. Hope you'll enjoy some subtle plays on words.

First came along the "Blue Jay".

This jay's got the blues.

Then, the "Stellar Jay".

This jay is stellar, perhaps even interstellar.

Finally, an "Alternative Jay" appeared.

This jay never fit in with the others, it was always more alternative.

- All painting were completed with drawing inks, watercolor, gouache, and micron pens on vellum bristol paper.
- They are around 9 x 12 inches (23cm x 30cm) in size.

Keep an eye out, more jays might be flying in soon. :)

Prints and merchandise is available throughout my shops. Click the links below to browse and support an independent artist.

-Society6
-RedBubble
-INPRNT

Last but not least, please get in touch if you're interested in commissioning an illustration from me. You can do so through my official website here - http://mariyaolshevska.com/contact.html. 

Cheers!

Memorial Portrait

Hello there,

It's been some time since my last post, and I hope that everyone's summer has been a nice one.

I've been very fortunate in that the circumstances in my life had finally worked out in such a way that I was finally able to visit Iceland, which was a dream of mine for about 10 years now. It was definitely a much needed getaway and a very uplifting trip. Though I did not do any plein air sketching or painting, I took a large number of photos and perhaps in the near future I'll use these for a fantasy illustration.

In more sad news, a month ago, my beloved childhood cat Toma (nicknamed Tomcat) has passed away at the age of 18. Although she passed peacefully, it was (and is) still very hard to come to terms with. Rationalizing that she had a healthy and comfortable life did little to ease ease feelings of loss, regret, and pain. So, I just tried to do something nice to honor her memory. I was very nervous about how it would turn out, but in small steps I worked towards painting her portrait. In the end, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Looking through all the photos we had of her, I picked a reference which I thought would work best for the composition I had in mind and would come closest for the expression and mood I was hoping to capture.

As usual, I started with a pencil sketch. Then did some ink with my micron pens to map out the main features and stripes in the fur.

Next, I tackled the background. I wanted it to have an impressionistic feel; suggestive of some of whimsical, forested area, but keeping the focus on Tomcat's face. I wanted to believe her spirit lives on somewhere green, lush and happy.

Then, I worked at building up subtle layers of colour to illustrate the softness of her fur, finishing off with touches of white gouache for the whiskers, eyebrows, and eye glimmers.

close up

For the final touches, I added a little bit of gold paint to add some accents to the eyes, fur, and the background. It's by no means an addition that has a visible impact on the finished piece after digital reproduction, but I find it to be a pleasant, understated feature of in person viewing.

 (I apologies for the lesser quality images of my in-process work. Unfortunately, I did not have the scanner conveniently within my reach, so all the work in progress photos are made on my phone.)

1999-2017

Anyways, if you enjoy the piece, there are now art prints and post cards available for sale. Profits from the sales with will be donated to two local cat charities which I like to support - VOKRA and Katie's Place.

Please find prints available on:

-Society6
-RedBubble
-InPrint
-TeePublic
-DesignByHumans 

Media: Pigma Micron + Prismacolor fine line archival marker pens, Koh-I-Noor (waterproof) drawing inks, watercolour, Acryla gouache on Strathnore "Mixed Media" vellum surface paper.
Paper Size: 8.5 x 11 inches
Painting Size: 5.5 x 6 inches

Thanks for visiting! In farewell, I leave you with one of my favourite pictures of her.

"Outside seemed better from far away."

Meticulous Maiden - Fair Flora

Hi!
It's been a while since I've posted some art along with my steps.
After acquiring a hand injury this piece was particularly challenging, especially since it's likely my most detailed illustration thus far.

I present to you my vision of the goddess Flora. This piece was inspired by various interpretations of flora I've seen throughout my life, and from quite recently a description of the Welsh goddess Olwen. In my version though, she is adorned with red clovers (for stylistic purposes) and she her hair is made from spring flowers. (Flowers include: clovers, dandelions, crocuses, camellias, magnolias, periwinkles, catkins, bell flowers, baby's breath, hyacinths, hydrangeas, lisianthuses, daisies, snow drops, lilies of the valley, morning glories, and perhaps some more flowers which I've forgotten.)

Oh, and this piece was for as set of promotional postcards.

Here's how it all came together:

The humble, little thumbnail

Rough sketch

Loose pencil. Really, if I penciled in all the flowers at once I would have gone bonkers.

Colour study. Ended up taking a different approach in the end

Inked line-work, stage 1. (I worked in chunks penciling and inking, one right after the other)

Inked line-work, stage 2. I decided to try out a method less familiar to me - 'silhouette inking' certain vines and leaves

Here, I coloured most flowers. (Still needed to paint her face and add more depth to certain sections)

(click to enlarge) Finished piece! Front and back of my postcard

close ups

Materials:
`Bristol Smooth Paper
`Micron pens
`Koh-i-Noor waterproof colour inks
`Gouache
`Watercolour

Approximate Size:
7.5 x 10.5 inches

Spring Owl (Speedpaint)

Well, this was my idea of speed painting - traditionally with watercolors.
This piece took a little over an hour, I think. I'm not quite sure because halfway through the power went out and it was completely dark for some time, and then I had to step away for a moment. But yeah, around an hour, not much more.
I found a reference image in an old calendar and just went for it, and had fun.

I painted the majority of the picture with watercolors and then added some detail with Prismacolor brown 005 point pen, and squeezed in a few touches with gouache.

Size: 6 x 8.75 inches
Paper: Canson acid free mat board, off-white
Paint: St. Petersburg watercolor box set

I think I'll do more of these type of "speed paintings". It seems like a great way to use up some scrap mat board and paper :)

Arnve's Exile - Comic Project

Here are my completed 8 pages of comic story for my latest project. The story isn't over (in my mind) and I may continue drawing pages in my spare time, when inspiration strikes.
I call it "Arnve's Exile" - Arnve being the name I've given the main character.

"With the coming of the tide

And with the endless violet night,

Somebody new is brought ashore

To test the lands of time once more"

"Having the vines blocking way back

She must by some means keep on track,

The dark and deadly chasm overcome

And not to fear and dread succumb."

Info:
Written and Illustrated by Mariya Olshevska
"Original" pages are 8.5 x 11 inches
Bristol/water color paper
Koh-i-Noor color inks
0.05 + 0.1 micron pens and tracing paper for the inks

My basic process was: small thumbnails (mini roughs) ---> tight pencils ---> inked 11x17 pages ---> lettering and panel layout in Illustrator ---> printing on watercolor paper and painting with waterproof colored inks. The painting took between 12-16 hours I think.

Anyway - there are quite a number of things I know could/should be changed and the project looks quite different from what I originally envisioned it to be...but oh well. Next time will be better!


Thanks for reading! :)

Me, Myself, and I

It seems this semester many of my illustration portraits are centered around "the self" and self portraiture. One of my teachers said that the reason he is having us do various self portraits is to have us focus more on experimenting with different techniques and materials. Since one knows oneself best, all concentration can go towards the image, rather than worrying of how to properly represent someone else.=P

Anyhow, here are a couple of self- portraits that we were supposed to do from the same sketch/reference:

9 x 12" | stretched canvas | acrylic paint

8.5 x 11'' | hot-press watercolor paper | watercolor paints | inspired by vintage fashion posters

And here is my reference sketch:

and reference photo:

Hawk of Achill

Here's the 2nd project of the semester.

The objective was to create two illustrations based on a piece of text that relates to a culture. The two pieces also had to relate to each other.

So..due to my love for all things Celtic. I illustrated the following pieces on the Celtic Hawk of Achill.

The information I used I found on this Celtic Symbols page which said:  

Celtic tradition lists the oldest animal as the Hawk of Achill.  As with many other birds, the hawk is a messenger of the various worlds. However, it is noted as being more skillful and stronger than most others of its species. To hear the cry of a hawk during a journey is an indication that it would be wise to be alert to upcoming situations that require boldness and decisiveness in order to keep from being thrown off-balance.  The hawk was considered a noble bird that brought the sun within his feathers, and enabled recollection and the ability to progress.

size: 8.5 x 11 inches | colored inks & watercolor

size: 8.5 x 11 inches | colored inks & watercolor

some detail

another detail shot

 How much time did I spend on these? Well...let's just say they were my priority and sleep was not an option, haha